Scene from the life of the Buddha: the fire temple of Uruvilva (relief fragment)
India, Gandhara, early 3rd century
Grey schist
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund, 1972/2.41

UMMA Collections

Asia: South Asia

Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tibet

The South Asian sculpture collection spans two millennia and a wide geographical range. Among the earliest works are female fertility figures and Buddhist reliefs dating to the first through fifth centuries, from Gandhara, Mathura, and Nagarjunakonda. The medieval period (sixth through thirteenth centuries) is represented by stone temple sculptures or bronze votive statues of the major Hindu deities from Kashmir in the north to Bengal in the east and Tamil Nadu in the south. From later periods, there are several dated Jaina bronze sculptures, and several hundred miniature folk bronzes, representing Hindu deities or village heroes. The Museum collection includes over 100 Indian paintings, most of which are from Rajput centers in Rajasthan or the Punjab, but also include Jaina and Mughal works. The most recent additions to the collection include several major works of stone sculpture, a Tibetan Kadampa stupa of the thirteenth century, and village textiles.